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Subbed Live-Action Gantz to Screen in San Francisco

The New People center's Viz Cinema theater in the Japantown district of San Francisco will screen the live-action Gantz film with English subtitles this month, along with the previously announced screening of the anime movie series Kara no Kyoukai - the Garden of sinners. The English-subtitled Gantz screening will run on Saturday, February 19 at 7:15 p.m., while The Garden of Sinners will have its official American premiere this Saturday, February 5 at 1:30 p.m.

The Gantz film adapts Hiroya Oku's popular manga of the same name. In it, actors Kazunari Ninomiya (Letters from Iwo Jima) and Ken'ichi Matsuyama (Death Note, Detroit Metal City) play two childhood friends who are accidently killed in a subway accident. They are resurrected to take on violent missions under the instructions of a mysterious black orb known as Gantz.

The movie had its worldwide premiere with the two stars last month when it debuted — with an English dub — in 334 theaters throughout the United States for one night only. The second of the planned films, Gantz: Perfect Answer, will open in Japan on April 23. There are currently no official release date announced for a North American premiere of the second film.

The Garden of Sinners is a collection of seven movies based on the Kara no Kyoukai web novels written by Type-Moon co-founder Kinoko Nasu. The series revolves around the female protagonist Shiki Ryōgi and her ability to visualize and destroy the signs of mortality in everything, living and non-living. She then uses her powers to solve various supernatural anomalies and abnormal murder cases within the city.

Viz Cinema will be showing the first movie (Overlooking View), the second movie (A Study in Murder Part 1), and the seventh movie (A Study in Murder Part 2), all in one day. The movies run for 49 minutes, 58 minutes, and 119 minutes, respectively. Following the screenings will be a discussion panel with producer Atsuhiro Iwakami and Hikaru Kondo, the executive producer and the president of the animation studio ufotable. Aniplex of America will be releasing a Garden of Sinners Blu-Ray Disc box set with all seven of the movies starting next Tuesday, February 8.

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